Fred Yates (1922 - 2008)

Fred was born in Lancashire where he worked as an insurance clerk before serving in the Grenadier Guards in World War II. (His twin brother was killed at Arnhem.) After the war he became a painter and decorator and trained to become a teacher. At this time he began painting, in a style which initially owed much to Lowry.

By 1970 Yates was living in Cornwall, painting en plain air, mostly colourful beach and cliffscapes and lively scenes of village life. Commercial success followed the exhibition “St Ives 1939-64” at the Tate Gallery, London in 1985.

In the early 1990s he moved to Rancon in France, painting local scenes and encouraging local and British artists in the area. In his eighties he moved to Drome in the Rhone Alps for the healthful climate and he continued to paint and travel up to his death. He died of a heart attack after returning to England and is buried within view of St Michael’s Mount – one of his favourite places.